Bayne believes Diab, 64, is on a no-fly list, so it's unclear when he could return to Canada.

"He's been found to be, in effect, an innocent man in France who is not a French citizen who does not currently have Canadian travel documents and who is probably (or almost certainly) on a no-fly list," Bayne said in an interview.

"But he's in a much better position today than he was yesterday in a prison -- but he's not at liberty, as a normal citizen would be, to hop on a plane and come home."

Diab was accused in the terrorist attack on a Paris synagogue and has been imprisoned in France for three years.

But French magistrates ruled Friday the evidence against Diab was not strong enough to warrant a referral to criminal court.

Bayne said he was thankful for the decision by French judges who used "their wisdom and courage to buck political and social pressure to make a completely just decision, something that we believe the courts in Canada failed to do at every level."

Bayne said he's not yet ready to declare victory, with Diab's French lawyers certain that prosecutors in France will appeal.

"France is so traumatized by terrorist attacks that their legal machinery for dealing with terrorism cases is very, very strict," Bayne said. "The government can show no sign of softness or weakness toward accused terrorists."

The RCMP arrested Diab in Quebec in November 2008 at the request of French authorities in connection with the attack, which killed four people.

He was extradited to France in 2014 after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case.

Diab, a sociology professor, has always denied his involvement.

His lawyers in France pointed to the evidence that showed Diab could not have been in France when the attack occurred, with many elements showing he was in Beirut at the time.

"The decision also notably underlines the numerous contradictions and misstatements contained in the intelligence which cast serious doubts about their reliability, as well as the fact that Dr. Diab's handwriting, fingerprints, palm prints, physical description, and age do not match those of the suspect identified in 1980," read a statement by an a committee that advocated for Diab's release.